The Real Costs of Building a Mobile App for iOS and Android

So what does it actually cost to build a Mobile App?

In 2014, 60 percent of online traffic came from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. By 2016, that figure had reached 65 percent. Here at Skylab Apps, we know the statistics of why your business, brand or product(s) need a Mobile App. What we find ourselves explaining a lot of the time is costs associated with making a high tech platform.

The increasing popularity of the smartphone has led to a high demand for mobile apps. The mobile app industry generated approximately $44.8 billion in 2016. By 2020, market analysts predict that the global mobile app market could hit $100 billion.

If you are planning to have a mobile app designed for your business, you should first consider development costs. Mobile app development is a multi-stage process. Each stage requires specialization, plus multiple tests to ensure quality and functionality. But if you could build a mobile app that successfully addresses the needs and wants of your market, your business could enjoy a windfall of profits.

Why does your business need a mobile app?

If your business has a mobile-responsive website, you are already ahead of 91 percent of everyone else. But if you add a mobile app, you could exponentially increase your lead over your closest competitors.

Here are a few advantages of having a mobile app for your business:

1. Improves accessibility
Today’s mobile market spends approximately 200 minutes in apps. A mobile app makes it easier for them to access your business without needing to switch devices.

2. Enhances customer engagement
Convenience and ease of use are important qualities for ensuring customer experience. Mobile apps allow your customers to connect and engage with you in real time, which helps foster trust and stronger relationships.

3.Improves brand recognition
Having your brand situated on the interface of a smartphone or tablet will heighten brand recognition, considering how much time people spend on their mobile devices. Plus, it has been estimated that there will be 268 billion app downloads in 2017, and 68 percent of consumers report actually using the apps they download.

4. Improves value proposition
You can use a mobile app to give your customers discounts, usable information, and support.

5. Presents another avenue for sales
The convenience and accessibility of a mobile app will encourage your customers to carry out transactions with your business rather than patronize a competitor who only has a website.

People spend 89 percent of their time using mobile apps rather than mobile websites. According to Arthur Linuma of ISBX, “Mobile apps tend to get a more qualified and engaged audience, and therefore sales conversion rates are higher in comparison to an e-commerce website.”

At Skylab, We’re not only providing a mobile app, but we’re also incorporating gamification strategies for all users of the app. Gamification is a growing phenomenon, which is revolutionizing the way things have been classically done. Dean Grey even highlights the power of social learning with gamification techniques. Gamification is taking something that already exists such as some sort of online community, website, application and adding game mechanics to this source. The purpose of providing game mechanics to these various sources is to motivate participation, engagement, and loyalty among its users. Gamification goes through 10 features such as Gamified E-learning, Power Chat, Habit Tracking Actions and Smart Tags.

It is very important that you have an idea of the type of app you want to be developed. It will help the process move faster and lower the risks of making mistakes or redesigns.

The process of developing an app

There are four stages involved in the development of an app:

1. Developing the idea: Once you’ve identified the type of app you need for your business, it is time to shift your focus to developing the concept behind the idea.

2. Functionality layout: This stage slowly brings your idea into a more tangible concept. Your software developer or architect will present wireframes to show how the app will function. You can give your inputs on how to make the app more useful to your market.

3. Design: This stage includes both the backend and frontend development phases. It involves management of users, server side logic, customization of user experience, data integration, caching of data, synchronization of data, UI design and development and various schedules for testing.

4. Going live: Once everything has been certified ready by your software development team, you can prepare to go live. For users of iOS, you should have the built-in Xcode installed so your app can be featured in the App Store.

Estimated costs of building a mobile app

Once you’ve determined the type of app you want to build and identified your target markets, it’s time to choose your platform. There are two main platforms to choose from Android or iOS.

What are the differences in building an app for Android vs. iOS?

iOSapps are cheaper and can be built quicker.

Android apps take two to three times longer to build than iOSapps.

iOS users, who own iPhones and iPads, tend to spend money more freely. This is why developers launch iOS-only apps before creating for Android. It gives them an idea of whether the app will be successful.

Your choice of platform may depend on the market you are targeting. While iOS is more popular in the U.S., Android has slowly gained ground and in fact leads in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

The next step is to assemble a mobile app development team, which will consist of the following:

Project manager(s): Oversees the entire development of the mobile app

UI/UX designer(s): Tasked with the app’s habitus and the impressions of the user

Coder(s): Oversees the app’s hidden structure

QA Engineer(s): Oversees all testing protocols

The cost of this team depends on the complexity of the app. Simple apps take approximately 10 weeks to build, with design accounting for up to 90 hours and backend development up to 800 hours.

Complex apps take around 28 weeks to build. The design would need approximately 370 hours and backend development up to 2,200 hours.

For Android apps, cost ranges as follows:

Elementary apps: $25,000 to $35,000

Standard apps: $45,000 to $55,000

Complex apps: $55,000 to $100,000

High-tech apps: $75,000 to $150,000

Estimated costs for iOSapps (for Apple devices) are as follows:

Simple, table-based apps: $1,000 to $4,000

Database apps: $15,000 to $50,000

Games: $10,000 to $250,000

The following are some other costs to consider for building your app:

In-app purchase capability: $1,000 to $3,000; allows users to buy new content or full versions of the app

Web services: $1,000 to $5,000; take the content to a remote access point so you can update your app with XML files instead of changes to the raw code

SDKs: $50 to $200; SDKs help you track your app and find ways to monetize. Examples include Google Analytics, Chartboost, and Tapjoy.

A mobile app is a great way to help your business gain more traction and better brand recognition. But it could entail quite an investment. While the timing of the release is important, you should not rush through the development stages. The cost of building the mobile app will hardly matter in the long run if it takes off and gains a large market of users.

3 Comments

Thanks for sharing an informative post as you described each aspect of mobile app development very well which is very helpful to those who really want to have an app to engaged audience and get a higher conversion rates.

Great article, much obliged for sharing. As a my conclusion there’s no final answer because Mobile App development cost relies on upon the components you need,complexity of the application, and the amount you need to gauge in the underlying stages. The first and maybe most critical stride in making an extraordinary application is to do your examination. When you have thought of your application idea, set aside the opportunity to ensure nothing indistinguishable as of now exists on the market.